Instigator / Pro
0
1337
rating
26
debates
9.62%
won
Topic
#1637

The United Kingdom was at one time a Socialist State

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
21
Better sources
0
14
Better legibility
0
7
Better conduct
0
7

After 7 votes and with 49 points ahead, the winner is...

RationalMadman
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
49
1706
rating
561
debates
68.09%
won
Description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEgvxQ_OhcU Another example of applied socialism began just after World War II. Great Britain's storied leader during the devastating war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, shockingly was defeated in re-election by Clement Atlee, a virtual unknown outside of Britain. Atlee was the head of the Labour Party, a democratic socialist party established in 1900, while Churchill was head of the conservative party, also known as the Tory Party. After World War II, much of Britain was fed up with healthcare concerns and labor problems, and many people didn't believe that Churchill's Tory party would effect any change. Atlee's socialist party addressed these issues by nationalizing industry and creating a free healthcare system.

The Labour Party nationalized Britain's main industries, including coal, electricity, steel and the railways. Nationalization occurs when the state takes over the means of production and distribution. The idea is that any profits generated will then benefit the country, rather than a wealthy few. Some improvements resulted from nationalization in Britain. For example, coal miners were given paid vacation and sick leave, and their safety became a greater concern. But nationalizing industry turned out to be trickier than anyone initially thought. Industries became inefficient and unprofitable because no competition existed to motivate workers to perform better on the job. https://money.howstuffworks.com/socialism5.htm

Round 1
Pro
#1
Between 1945 and 1979 the UK nationalized most of its heavy industry raised income tax rates up to 98% on the rich and created an out of control welfare state.
It was pretty much a blue  print on how not to create a proper left of center society as opposed to say Social Democrats in Germany and Scandanavia and later socialists in France who seemed to have better luck achieving  social democratic goals without  trashing the economy 
Britain had the commanding heights of industry under state control , high taxes on the rich , and a eleborate welfare state, they even nationalized the health industry in the from of the NHS , I am not saying everything they did  was bad, but it quickly became a dysfunctional mess in 1979 as the unions went on strike constantly and made any needed reform impossible. It wasnt all bad but it ended in a mess, and was pretty much fit the defintion of democratic socialism
Con
#2
It was not. You're making this up. It was at best a social democracy but at the time you describe the UK, it was actually brutally capitalist and ended up with Margaret Thatcher in charge.
Round 2
Pro
#3
Forfeited
Con
#4
Don't dare tell a thing to me, I win.
Round 3
Pro
#5
Forfeited
Con
#6
full forfeit no doubt